The study of Herman Bavinck's theology and broader thought has flourished in recent years. Now the spearhead of contemporary Bavinck studies, James Eglinton, has delivered the definitive scholarly biography of this renowned Dutch Reformed theologian and public intellectual. Through meticulous analysis of an enormous range of primary sources, Eglinton has produced a masterful portrait of Bavinck that is much more detailed, nuanced and insightful than was offered in previous accounts.

Central to this revised understanding of Bavinck is Eglinton's rebuttal of older depictions of Bavinck as a figure constantly ‘pushed and pulled by opposing forces’, namely Calvinist orthodoxy and modernism, ‘and never able to settle on one direction’. Building on his earlier work Trinity and organism (2012), Eglinton makes a compelling case that, instead of ‘two Bavincks’ – an orthodox Calvinist one and a modernist one – Bavinck instead had a coherent and consistent personal programme of articulating and promoting Calvinist orthodoxy in the context of an ever-changing and rapidly modernising late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century world. Simply put, Bavinck's aim was to be both orthodox and modern.

Closely related to this, Eglinton highlights a leitmotif in Bavinck's life story, namely his constant endeavour to move from the periphery of the academy and society towards integration with the mainstream. From Bavinck's family roots in the conservative and fairly marginal Dutch Seceder (Afgescheidenen) tradition, Eglinton traces the ambitious Bavinck's progression from relative obscurity at the young Theological School in Kampen, to his studies under the ‘Modern theologians’ at Leiden, his brief pastorate in Franeker, his growth in prominence as a professor at Kampen, and ultimately his heyday as a renowned professor at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Along with his father, Jan, Bavinck belonged to a wing among the Seceders who desired active engagement with and a greater presence within broader Dutch culture, as opposed to others within their ranks who inclined towards separation.

Bavinck's quest to engage the mainstream sprouted from his neo-Calvinist view that the Church's task – and therefore his own – was to actively interact with the surrounding culture in order to maximise Christian (and particularly Calvinist) influence on modern Dutch culture and thereby transform it. Eglinton provides a fascinating account of how Bavinck navigated this challenging undertaking, showing (among other things) how Bavinck's ambition of having a seat at the table of mainstream Dutch culture underpinned his desire to study at Leiden, his differences with some colleagues in the church and at Kampen's Theological School, his ultimate departure for the VU, and his involvement in politics later in life.

Eglinton chronicles how Bavinck's theological emphases altered as Dutch society and the intellectual climate around him changed. During his Kampen years in the late nineteenth century, Bavinck championed Calvinism and produced the first edition of his magnum opus, the four-volume Gereformeerde Dogmatiek (Reformed Dogmatics), a monumental statement of Reformed orthodoxy designed to speak to Bavinck's modern context. However, by the early twentieth century, during his Amsterdam years, Europe had secularised much more than Bavinck had previously anticipated. Now, in the ‘Age of Nietzsche’, instead of specifically promoting Calvinism, the need of the day was for Christian apologetics, ethics and evangelisation more generally, and this was reflected in his publications of the period.

It has sometimes been claimed that Bavinck's change in focus during his Amsterdam years suggests that he ‘gave up’ on dogmatics or his Reformed heritage, but Eglinton argues convincingly that this was not the case. The Dutch social and religious landscape had changed, and the new broader focus of Bavinck's writings simply reflected his Neo-Calvinist enterprise of promoting Christianity in all facets of a secularised society, without departing from his prior Reformed commitments. Besides, as Eglinton points out, during his Amsterdam years Bavinck actually continued his dogmatic work, producing new enlarged editions of his Reformed dogmatics as well as two different-sized abridgments designed for non-scholarly readerships.

Though primarily known as a theologian, Eglinton highlights Bavinck's status as a true renaissance man: he was an ethicist, a politician (member of parliament), a Bible translator, a journalist, a literary critic, a supporter of women's education and suffrage, a writer on pedagogy and psychology, and he was knowledgeable in various scientific fields. Despite excelling in so many areas, however, Bavinck is also shown to have been very much human: he experienced various joys and sorrows, successes and disappointments, and occasional doubts. Indeed, one of the most gripping episodes in the biography is Bavinck's intense but unrequited and repeatedly frustrated love interest in Amelia den Dekker during his late teens and twenties. Furthermore, in the changing dynamics of Bavinck's relationships with friends of various stripes – from his theological and political comradeship with Abraham Kuyper to his lifelong friendship with the prominent orientalist Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje – Bavinck is revealed as a figure who was able to maintain intimate relations with and sincere appreciation for those with views radically different from his own, while also being able to distance himself at points from those with whom he had most in common.

Given that Bavinck is primarily remembered as a theologian, some readers may approach this biography expecting more commentary on Bavinck's theological thought than is provided by Eglinton, whose focus here is rather on the man behind the theology. However, scholarly analyses of Bavinck's theology and broader thought have abounded in recent years (due in no small part to Eglinton himself), and therefore such may be read about elsewhere in light of this biography.

Eminently readable and accessible to scholars and non-scholars alike, this biography is furthermore equipped with a very thoughtful apparatus, including thirty-nine photographs, a basic chronology of Bavinck's life, a map of the Netherlands locating the most important places in Bavinck's life story and a glossary of ‘Key figures, Churches, educational institutions, and newspapers’ referenced in the work. Moreover, three appendices are included featuring newly translated material, including Bavinck's reflections on his travels in America. Befitting the overall ‘feel’ of the biography is the original cover artwork of a pensive Bavinck, painted by Oliver Crisp.

In sum, Eglinton's biography provides a lively and high-resolution image of the remarkably gifted Herman Bavinck and how he navigated the vicissitudes of Dutch late modernity as a culturally-engaged orthodox Calvinist theologian. It will be a must-read for generations to come.